Thursday, 28 June 2012

Unfortunately I have to say, that so far this summer has disappointed. Instead of BBQs and ice cream it's been all about waterproofs, woolly jumpers and even hot water bottles here in the UK. I hope you're faring better elsewhere in the world and the last couple of days have looked a little more promising here also, dare I say?!

At least some of my favourite seasonal late spring/early summer produce has been as good as always. One of the things I always look forward to, apart from riding my bike in the sunshine, having picnics in the garden or the park and getting all my dresses out of their winter storage place under the bed, is the arrival of asparagus season in May.

I know, I know I'm a little late as it's nearly July and the season is pretty much over, but I didn't want to wait a whole year to share this amazing recipe for Asparagus Pizza with Ham and Goat's Cheese by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It was published in the Guardian a few weeks ago and as I had friends round that day I tried it straight away.

I adjusted the recipe, especially the amounts of ingredients in the topping as I ran out after topping 1 1/2 of the pizzas, which wasn't a problem as I just topped the rest with tomato, ham, peppers and mature cheddar, but if you want to go for all the same this should work:

Asparagus Pizza with Ham and Goat's Cheese by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

To
make the pizza dough, in a large bowl mix the the flours with the salt and yeast.

Add the oil and 325ml warm water, using your hands mix everything until you have a rough dough.

Tip out the dough on to a clean and floured work surface.

Flour your hands and knead rhythmically for five to 10 minutes, until smooth.

Coat a large bowl with a fine layer of olive oil.

Put the dough into the bowl and cover loosely with a clean tea towel.

Place in in
a warm place to rise until doubled in size – at least one hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 240C/465F/gas mark 9, if it goes that high, or at least 220C/425F/gas mark 7, and put in a baking sheet or even better a pizza stone to warm up.

While the oven is getting hot, prepare the topping.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Add
the sliced onions and a pinch of salt.

Reduce the heat to low and cook them gently.

Stir regularly to stop them from colouring. I also often cover them loosely with a bit of parchment paper which means they sweat as well as fry, which turns them nice and soft.

Fry for 20-30 minutes until really soft.

Returning to your dough, tip it out of the bowl on to a
lightly floured surface and deflate with your fingers.

Leave it to rest
for a few minutes, then divide it into three equal portions.

Roll out one piece as thinly as
you can.

Remove the hot baking sheet or pizza stone from from the oven, scatter over a little fine cornmeal or flour and lay the pizza base on it.

Spread a
third of the onions over the dough and arrange a third of the asparagus
on top. If your asparagus spears are thick, cut them in half lengthways.

Tear the ham into shreds and lay a third of it over the
asparagus.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and finish with a generous trickle of good quality olive oil.

Bake the pizza for
10-12 minutes, until the base is crisp, the edges browned and the
asparagus tender.

Repeat with the remaining dough and topping.

Top with finely grated goat's cheese and/or parmesan as soon as it comes out of the oven and drizzle with a little more good quality olive oil. If you're using soft goat's cheese instead of the hard variety, put it on before the pizza goes in the oven.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

I have written about this cake before in this post and in this one, but it is so good I think it deserves another post.

It's funny, when I look at my blog stats the most popular post of all times is Tana Ramsey's Lemon Drizzle Cake, but this one is so much better and it is easier to make also. No creaming the butter and sugar, no heating lemon juice and sugar for a glaze and yet a perfect moist and lemony cake as a result. How can you go wrong?! Whenever I make this I get loads of compliments and requests for the recipe. So if you have come here after googling "lemon drizzle cake recipe" look no further! The recipe originally came from my friend Karen who writes Lavender and Lovage.

This one is for my students who are graduating this year. Well done to you all!

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Work-wise this is the busiest time of the year for me. My final year students have just put up their work for this year Manchester School of Art Degree Show and I'm in the middle of assessing it. It's all very exciting, but means long and tiring days at the same time.

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I love food and I love sharing my enthusiasm for good quality ingredients and often simple recipes. I am German but live in Manchester, England and I use this blog to share what's cooking and baking in my kitchen. I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment or feel free to ask me a question!